Description

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
founded in 1901 as the National Bureau of Standards, was renamed in
1988 and directed specifically to assist industry in the
development of technology needed to improve product quality, to
modernize manufacturing processes, to ensure product reliability
and to facilitate rapid commercialization of products based on new
scientific discoveries. This explicit mission builds on a
long-standing agency responsibility to both assist industry and
develop, maintain, and retain custody of the national standards of
measurement. As a non- regulatory agency of the Commerce
Department, NIST helps U.S. industry strengthen its
competitiveness, advances science and engineering, and improves
public health, safety, and the environment.

Mission

To promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by
advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways
that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.

Available Technologies

Displaying 1 - 10 of 201

A DIELECTRIC SLIT DIE FOR IN-LINE MONITORING OF LIQUIDS PROCESSING

Description:

The dielectric slit die is an instrument that is designed to measure electrical, rheological, ultrasonics, optical and other properties of a flowing liquid. In one application, it is connected to the exit of an extruder, pump or mixing machine that passes liquefied material such as molten plastic, solvents, slurries, colloidal suspensions, and foodstuffs into the sensing region of the slit shaped die. Dielectric sensing is the primary element of the slit die, but in addition to the dielectric sensor, the die contains other sensing devices such as pressure, optical fiber, and ultrasonic sensors that simultaneously yield an array of materials property data. The slit die has a flexible design that permits interchangeability among sensors and sensor positions. The design also allows for the placement of additional sensors and instrumentation ports that expand the potential data package obtained.

A FOUR-WAVE MIXING SOURCE OF SQUEEZED LIGHT FOR IMAGE PROCESSING AND INTERFEROMETRY.

Description:

The phase-sensitive amplifier implementing our chi(3) 4-wave mixing source would be an enabling technology for image processing. A number of efforts in the newly labeled field of "quantum imaging" allow for better detection sensitivity or better image resolution if one is able to apply "squeezed" light with a broad range of spatial modes and frequencies. Such nonclassical light (a quantum mechanical treatment of the electromagnetic field is required) has proved diffcult to produce in the past. Our present source is competitive with, but not quite as good as, the best available chi(2)-based systems in the degree of squeezing we have obtained. On the other hand, it is clearly superior to them in its abilty to produce squeezed light in many spatial modes of the field. It wil allow "noiseless image amplification" and "super-resolution" techniques to be employed in applications well beyond what has been demonstrated with chi(2) media. It should have uses in microscopy and image recovery from weak image data. In addition, a diode-based source should demonstrate squeezing at very low detection frequencies. This should allow the production of a very stable interferometer using our 4-wave mixing source. Such an interferometer would be an excellent detector for highly sensitive chemical detection by photothermal spectroscopy.

A METHOD AND PROCESS FOR IMPOSING FINE-GRAINED NEXT GENERATION ACCESS CONTROLS OVER RDBMS SQL QUERIES AND DATABASE OBJECTS

Description:

The process and method provides a means of leveraging Next Generation Access Control (NGAC) standard for expression and enforcement of access control policies over SQL queries for accessing tables, records, columns, and fields in existing RDBMS products. By leveraging NGAC the Process and method provides a means of access control policy support that goes beyond the state of the art, with minimal impact on performance. In particular, it can impose forms of mandatory, discretionary, and history-based access control policies. The method and process also provides a means of comprehensively enforcing access control over RDBMS and non-RDBMS data types. Finally, the process and method could be directly implemented in a RDBMS kernel.

A METHOD TO ADD PASSWORD DATABASE CAPABILITY TO HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SECURITY MODULES

Description:

The invention describes a novel method for storing a database of usemames and corresponding passwords on software and hardware security modules( such as smart cards and USB security tokens) that do not offer native password database storage capability. External applications can access and use these secure password databases to automatically log on to network services such as web servers. Although the majority of security modules do not explicitly support storage of password databases and also do not typically allow implementers to store arbitrary files onboard, the invention uses existing security objects such as public key certificates as a wrapper for password databases to overcome this limitation. It is therefore possible to implement theinvention with no modifications to off-the-shelf security modules and, as an additional benefit, no modifications to web servers' normal usemame/password logon processes are required. Since passwords will continue to be used for the foreseeable future, secure password management will continue to be an issue in the online world.

Engineered sortase variants are shown to have promiscuous activity that allow proteinsto be tagged using a diverse array of small, commercially available amines, includingbioorthogonal functional groups. This technique can also be carried out in living microbial cells,enabling simple, inexpensive production of chemically functionalized proteins with no additionalpurification steps. The methods find use in the site specific conjugation of drugs, imaging probesand other chemical moieties to proteins and peptides.

Disclosed is a system, comprising a series of devices, for encapsulating and obtaining high­ resolution imaging and spectroscopic measurements of samples in a fluid (gas or liquid) environment in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). The system comprises a nanofabricated chip which enables the fluid environment of interest to be separated from the vacuum of the TEM, and, in various embodiments, allows for fluid flow, mixing, heating, and the application of voltages for, e.g. electrochemical studies, and a holder, compatible with the TEM, that allows for the various inputs from the exterior of the TEM to be applied to the holder.

A SYSTEM FOR HIGH THROUGHPUT GENERATION OF PATTERNED 3D CANCER CELL SPHEROIDS FROM ADHERENT MONOLAYERS AND CO-CULTURE WITH OTHER CELL TYPES

Description:

A micro-patterning method for spatially positioning tumor cells and controlling their morphology between a 3-D and a 2-D state is disclosed. The system consists of a microfluidic or robotic fluid delivery to first lay down a layer of the cell adhesive protein fibronectin, which serves as a mask for blocking tumor cell attachment as well as an adhesive substrate for other non-cancerou s cells. A second layer of a polycation such as PAH is then laid down over the fibronectin layer in a precisely defined pattern using either microfluidic or other means. Thishybrid surface can either be used as it is or further modified by treating with protein cross-l inking enzymes such as tissue transglutaminase or other reagents to alter cell behavior. Themethod/dev ice can either be used for testing anti-cancer drugs, for diagnostics, or for modeling the influence of neighboring cells on cancer cell phenotype and behaviors includ ing proliferation , migration, metastasis, and morphogen esis.

A SYSTEM TO DETECT AND PROCESS X-RAY PULSES IN REAL TIME FROM MULTIPLE MICROCALORIMETER ABSORBERS INCORPORATING TRANSITION EDGE SENSORS

Description:

We describe a hardware and software system that allows pulses from one or more x-ray microcalorimeter x-ray detectors to be converted into a histogram of x-ray energies in real time. The system identifies and rejects pileup and other corrupted pulses to an arbitrary degree, filters the pulses for noise in an optimal way, and determines the pulse heights. Pulses from multiple absorbers are processed in parallel and combined to provide a single histogram of counts vs x-ray energy.

A TABLE-TOP APPARATUS FOR TIME-RESOLVED X-RAY ABSORPTION AND EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY USING AN ARRAY OF AN X-RAY MICROCALORIMETER SENSORS

Description:

We present a table-top apparatus for time-resolved x-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy consisting of a laser plasma x-ray source, a microcalorimeter array x-ray spectrometer, and an interaction region where samples of interest can be excited by ultraviolet/visible/infrared light pulses and then probed after a controllable delay by x-ray pulses. X-rays are transported from the laser plasma source to the interaction region using a focusing x-ray optic. Transmitted or emitted x-rays from the samp1e are detected using the microcalorimeter x-ray spectrometer depending on its orientation relative to the probing x-ray beam.

A TABLE-TOP APPARATUS FOR TIME-RESOLVED X-RAY ABSORPTION AND EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY USING AN ARRAY OF AN X-RAY MICROCALORIMETER SENSORS

Description:

We present a table-top apparatus for time-resolved x-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy consisting of a laser plasma x-ray source, a microcalorimeter array x-ray spectrometer, and an interaction region where samples of interest can be excited by ultraviolet/visible/infrared light pulses and then probed after a controllable delay by x-ray pulses. X-rays are transported from the laser plasma source to the interaction region using a focusing x-ray optic. Transmitted or emitted x-rays from the samp1e are detected using the microcalorimeter x-ray spectrometer depending on its orientation relative to the probing x-ray beam.

The NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) Comprehensive Grant
Program provides funding to eligible proposers to support research
involving neutron research and spectroscopy specifically aimed at
assisting visiting researchers at the NCNR, developing new
instrumentation for neutron research, conducting collaborative
research with NIST scientists, and to conduct other outreach and
educational activities that advance the use of neutrons by U.S.
academia and industrial scientists.

EDA’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) leads the Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) Program. Under the RIS Program, the centerpiece of the Regional Innovation Program authorized under Section 27 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. § 3722), EDA currently awards grants that build regional capacity to translate innovations into jobs (1) through proof-of-concept and commercialization assistance to innovators and entrepreneurs and (2) through operational support for organizations that provide essential early-stage risk capital to innovators and entrepreneurs. The RIS Program consists of two separate competitions: the i6 Challenge and Seed Fund Support (SFS) Grants competition. The i6 Challenge is a leading national initiative designed to support the creation of centers for innovation and entrepreneurship that increase the rate at which innovations, ideas, intellectual property, and research are translated into products, services, viable companies, and, ultimately, jobs. Through the SFS Grants competition, EDA provides funding for technical assistance to support the creation, launch, or expansion of equity-based, cluster-focused seed funds that invest regionally-managed risk capital in regionally-based startups with a potential for high growth.

2017 RIS PROGRAM

On Wednesday, May 10, 2017, EDA began accepting applications under the 2017 Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). In this 2017 round, $17 million in Federal funding is available for the creation and expansion of cluster-focused proof-of-concept and commercialization program and of early-stage seed capital funds through the i6 Challenge and the 2017 Seed Fund Support Grant competition, respectively. The deadline for submitting applications under the 2017 RIS Program NOFA is June 23, 2017.

NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) is a national user facility purposely designed to accelerate innovation in nanotechnology-based commerce. Under the auspices of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), CNST's mission is to operate a national, shared resource...

JILA is a joint institute of the University of Colorado at Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. We support an eclectic and innovative research program that fosters creative collaborations among our scientists. Collaborations play a key role in the pioneering research JILA...

The Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) is pursuing that goal through the work of leading quantum scientists from the Department of Physics of the University of Maryland (UMD), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Laboratory for Physical Sciences (LPS). Each institution...

Neutron Techniques Crystallography The diffraction of neutrons from a crystalline samplefurnishes information about the structural arrangement of the atoms that compose it. Reflectometry probes the nanoscale structure of surfaces and interfaces Small Angle Neutron Scattering is a powerful method...

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Success Stories

Keeping Time: NIST-F2 Atomic Clock

The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has officially launched a new atomic clock, called NIST-F2, to serve as a new U.S. civilian time and frequency standard, along with the current NIST-F1 standard.

NIST-F2 would neither gain nor lose one second in about 300 million years, making it about three times as accurate as NIST-F1, which has served as the standard since 1999. Both clocks use a "fountain" of cesium atoms to determine the exact length of a second.

NIST scientists recently reported the first official performance data for NIST-F2,* which has been under development for a decade, to the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), located near Paris, France. That agency collates data from atomic clocks around the world to produce Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the international standard of time. According to BIPM data, NIST-F2 is now the world's most accurate time standard.**

NIST-F2 is the latest in a series of cesium-based atomic clocks developed by NIST since the 1950s. In its role as the U.S. measurement authority, NIST strives to advance atomic timekeeping, which is part of the basic infrastructure of modern society. Many everyday technologies, such as cellular telephones, Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite receivers, and the electric power grid, rely on the high accuracy of atomic clocks. Historically, improved timekeeping has consistently led to technology improvements and innovation.

"If we've learned anything in the last 60 years of building atomic clocks, we've learned that every time we build a better clock, somebody comes up with a use for it that you couldn't have foreseen," says NIST physicist Steven Jefferts, lead designer of NIST-F2.

For now, NIST plans to simultaneously operate both NIST-F1 and NIST-F2. Long-term comparisons of the two clocks will help NIST scientists continue to improve both clocks as they serve as U.S. standards for civilian time. The U.S. Naval Observatory maintains military time standards.

Both NIST-F1 and NIST-F2 measure the frequency of a particular transition in the cesium atom—which is 9,192,631,770 vibrations per second, and is used to define the second, the international (SI) unit of time. The key operational difference is that F1 operates near room temperature (about 27 ºC or 80 ºF) whereas the atoms in F2 are shielded within a much colder environment (at minus 193 ºC, or minus 316 ºF). This cooling dramatically lowers the background radiation and thus reduces some of the very small measurement errors that must be corrected in NIST-F1.

Primary standards such as NIST-F1 and NIST-F2 are operated for periods of a few weeks several times each year to calibrate NIST timescales, collections of stable commercial clocks such as hydrogen masers used to keep time and establish the official time of day. NIST clocks also contribute to UTC. Technically, both F1 and F2 are frequency standards, meaning they are used to measure the size of the SI second and calibrate the "ticks" of other clocks. (Time and frequency are inversely related.)

NIST provides a broad range of timing and synchronization measurement services to meet a wide variety of customer needs. NIST official time is used to time-stamp hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. financial transactions each working day, for example. NIST time is also disseminated to industry and the public through the Internet Time Service, which as of early 2014 received about 8 billion automated requests per day to synchronize clocks in computers and network devices; and NIST radio broadcasts, which update an estimated 50 million watches and other clocks daily.

At the request of the Italian standards organization, NIST fabricated many duplicate components for a second version of NIST-F2, known as IT-CsF2 to be operated by Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRIM), NIST's counterpart in Turin, Italy. Two co-authors from Italy contributed to the new report on NIST-F2.

The cesium clock era officially dates back to 1967, when the second was defined based on vibrations of the cesium atom. Cesium clocks have improved substantially since that time and are likely to improve a bit more. But clocks that operate at microwave frequencies such as those based on cesium or other atoms are likely approaching their ultimate performance limits because of the relatively low frequencies of microwaves. In the future, better performance will likely be achieved with clocks based on atoms that switch energy levels at much higher frequencies in or near the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. These optical atomic clocks divide time into smaller units and could lead to time standards more than 100 times more accurate than today's cesium standards. Higher frequency is one of a variety of factors that enables improved precision and accuracy.

Closed Captioning for the Hearing Impaired: How it Originated

In the early 1970's, NBS developed a time distribution system that placed a hidden time code on an unused part of the television signal. A decoder in the television set recovered and displayed the time. While the system was not implemented, this technology provided the basis for closed captioning.

In 1971, NBS and ABC-TV began experimentally transmitting captions. A demonstration was held for the National Conference on Television for the Hearing Impaired, showing an episode of Mod Squad that had been captioned by a NBS employee, Sandra Howe.

In the following years, the Public Broadcasting System, working with NBS, took up the project and developed convenient encoding equipment and improvements to the captioning format.

In 1980, ABC, NBC, and PBS began transmitting closed captions on selected programs, and decoders went on sale to the public. This coincided with the establishment of the National Captioning Institute which is still responsible for much of today's captioning.

In September 1980, NBS, ABC, and PBS received Emmys from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for this development. The NBS staff (Dick Davis, Jim Jespersen, and George Kamas) responsible for the work were later invited to the White House to meet with President Carter and receive his congratulations.

In 1990, President Bush signed a bill requiring that all television sets 13 inches or larger sold in the U.S. after July 1, 1993 have the capability for displaying closed captions.

Closed captions on a television set appear as white on a black background. They can be on the top or bottom of the screen depending on the nature of the picture. In a typical captioned program, captions do not appear when printed text is on the screen or when there is no speech. All television sets are configured so that captions can be switched on or off. The standard format now being used allows for captioning in two languages, but single language captioning predominates today.

NIST and the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) have been using Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) for joint cybersecurity efforts. The NCCoE’s mission is to advance cybersecurity by accelerating the adoption of secure technologies through collaborations with innovators to provide real-world, standards-based cybersecurity capabilities that address business needs. Within the NCCoE business communities have been broken into sectors. This project will discuss the collaborative efforts of one within the healthcare sector, Securing Electronic Health Records on Mobile Devices.

Cybersecurity challenges are brought to the NCCoE by members of the health IT community. Referred to by NIST as a community of interest (COI), this group helps the Center select topics and gives feedback on the results of NIST projects. With the fast-growing area of mobility and the acceptance of electronic health records (EHRs), the community saw a need to secure these systems and the communications between them. The NIST lab at the NCCoE built an environment that simulates the interaction among mobile devices and an EHR system supported by the IT infrastructure of a medical organization using technologies from a consortium of seven vendors and open-source tools.

To start the collaborative effort, the NCCoE issued a call in the Federal Register inviting technology providers with commercial products that matched NIST security characteristics to submit letters of interest describing their products’ capabilities. Companies with relevant products were invited to sign a CRADA with NIST, allowing them to participate in a consortium to build this example solution. NIST aims to describe the process that brings together the collaborators in an open and transparent way. In addition, NIST will examine the lightweight CRADA used and discuss the benefits of its streamlined approach.

CRADA Outcome

The Health IT Mobile Device Use Case research program was a collaboration between the NIST NCCoE and eight industry participants. The collaboration was formalized using a CRADA, a partnering tool that allows federal laboratories to work on research and development projects with U.S. industries, academia, and other organizations. The project worked to design and implement a mobile network build to secure mobile device communication to a backend electronic health record system. The research involved developing interconnections used in mobile devices, networking, secure infrastructure, and backend systems.

Numerous policy issues are involved in industry-collaborative research and development of health information technologies. Intellectual property and other contractual questions require negotiation in any government-industry collaboration. In the case of the NCCoE CRADA, there were major challenges negotiating End User License Agreements (EULAs) and their applicability to the federal government. Another sensitivity involved the legal terms for sharing trade secrets, which included concern about the lack of copyright by the government and the worry of potential Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosure. Additionally, health IT work must comply with human subjects, animal subjects, and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations. Interestingly, there was also discussion about the implications of data encryption of patient information on the Hippocratic Oath.

By using a streamlined CRADA template and requiring the education of both industry and government partners on the process, the consortium reduced the time to execute a CRADA from 9-12 months in 2012-2013 to 2-3 months in 2016. The increased efficiency in the process may be due to the NIST agreement staff increasing the understanding of common objections by industry negotiators and using a template that remains silent on many “difficult” terms.